This is maybe too much of a confession for a Tuesday, but I've been sent a YouTube clip of how my psyche works and I felt it was only fair to share. Seriously, it's scary how close this comes to the truth some days...
Those who ran Ragnar Relay with me can attest to the single-tracked mind.
p.s. I haven't forgotten the fact that I never got my donut.
Showing posts with label videos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label videos. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Bed: 1. Julie: 3.
I hate it when my bed beats me.
I'm not quite sure why this week has felt so long, but it has. The workouts have been hard but not that hard. (Okay, so maybe the hills on Tuesday hurt a little, and those 50s fly we did yesterday were hard...) I was all set for a track workout this morning. My alarm went off. I turned over. My ribs hurt. Then my left leg cramped. My stomach growled. My bed was warm. My nose was cold. My phone was under my pillow (not sure how it ended up there, but then again I also had a couple of books in bed with me so I probably fell asleep mid-something). I took those all as signs that I could and should skiv off the morning's workout. I texted Katie to let her know I wouldn't be picking her up in 15 minutes. Then I turned back over and went back to bed. It felt great to sleep and my achilles probably thanks me for the rest, but when I finally got up I couldn't help feeling like I had just gotten outkicked at the end of a race. Tomorrow, though, I will prevail.
On another note, I got into work today and found this lovely gem of a video waiting for me.
I get on dancing kicks every once in a while. My most recent one ended about a month ago and while I'm not really ready to get back into it just yet, seeing videos like this one makes me wish I had a dance partner with whom I would put together great routines like this one. These two are pretty much the best west coast swing dancers in the world. I got to see them dance last year and it really is quite a sight.
And now I'll leave you on the best note ever. Tomorrow I leave for Jamaica! I couldn't be happier about it. I really need a break right now and what better way to get said break than around some warmth and water. I'm also hopeful that the weekend will provide more interesting stories than I have been feeding you all for the last few weeks. I'm thinking with 4 women, an island resort, and no set plans, there's no way it can possibly disappoint. Cross your fingers!
I'm not quite sure why this week has felt so long, but it has. The workouts have been hard but not that hard. (Okay, so maybe the hills on Tuesday hurt a little, and those 50s fly we did yesterday were hard...) I was all set for a track workout this morning. My alarm went off. I turned over. My ribs hurt. Then my left leg cramped. My stomach growled. My bed was warm. My nose was cold. My phone was under my pillow (not sure how it ended up there, but then again I also had a couple of books in bed with me so I probably fell asleep mid-something). I took those all as signs that I could and should skiv off the morning's workout. I texted Katie to let her know I wouldn't be picking her up in 15 minutes. Then I turned back over and went back to bed. It felt great to sleep and my achilles probably thanks me for the rest, but when I finally got up I couldn't help feeling like I had just gotten outkicked at the end of a race. Tomorrow, though, I will prevail.
On another note, I got into work today and found this lovely gem of a video waiting for me.
I get on dancing kicks every once in a while. My most recent one ended about a month ago and while I'm not really ready to get back into it just yet, seeing videos like this one makes me wish I had a dance partner with whom I would put together great routines like this one. These two are pretty much the best west coast swing dancers in the world. I got to see them dance last year and it really is quite a sight.
And now I'll leave you on the best note ever. Tomorrow I leave for Jamaica! I couldn't be happier about it. I really need a break right now and what better way to get said break than around some warmth and water. I'm also hopeful that the weekend will provide more interesting stories than I have been feeding you all for the last few weeks. I'm thinking with 4 women, an island resort, and no set plans, there's no way it can possibly disappoint. Cross your fingers!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Easter thoughts
Last Sunday was our church's General Conference and one of the talks that made a particular impression upon me was one given by Elder Jeffrey Holland. Elder Holland is a speaker I often connect with because of his choice of topics and the manner in which he addresses them. He often speaks to the very things I am struggling with and speaks to them in a way that touches my spirit. Last week was no different. He spoke about lonliness and about our Savior's final days, particularly the final suffering of the atonement. This week the church put out a video with a portion of that talk combined with some music and clips from a moving video called Testaments.
As I watched this video this afternoon, I reflected on an experience I had on Friday. I have found myself distracted this week and have found it difficult to focus on Easter as much as I would have liked to. On Friday as I took a walk during lunch, in a hurry to run an errand across town, and cut across the park in front of the White House, where there are often protests and other displays. As I entered the park I saw a display I had seen in years past but had forgotten about. There were several men dressed up as Roman soldiers and one man dressed as Christ and carrying wooden cross. They walked slowly and silently through the park. At first I was a little bit embarrassed by this display. I'm not quite sure why, but I was. Then I observed the behavior of those around me. Some were staring with similar feelings of discomfort; some were oblivious; some were taking pictures; some were stopped reverently. As our paths were about to cross, my feelings began to change, but I didn't understand them. I knew they had moved away from discomfort of the display to discomfort with my own reaction. I considered what the reaction of the people of Jerusalem would have been on that Friday. Were there some who stared in discomfort? Were there those who regarded it as just another criminal trial and therefore were not interested? Were there those who payed attention and made mental historical notes? Were there those like me, unsure of how to feel, but sure that they must feel something? All these thoughts took place with lightning speed as our paths crossed moments later. As soon as I passed Christ, my spirit reacted. Unexpectedly, I felt pain, I felt the tragedy of that day, but I also felt of God's love for me and for all of us as He sent His son to live and die for us. I felt my eyes well up with tears and a few spilled over as I passed this silent march. I repented for my initial discomfort and expressed gratitude for these people's willingness to remind me of the significance of that day.
As I prepared myself this morning to sing my solo part in Beautiful Savior, I considered the words I would be singing. This hymn has a beautiful, simple melody and a simple message: the world is a glorious, beautiful place. Take all that glory and beauty and it does not compare to that of Christ. That is pretty remarkable. During the closing prayer of our services today, I felt that reaffirmed in my heart. I was touched by God's love for me and for all mankind.
I know that Christ lived and died for us and was resurrected on the day we celebrate as Easter. I know that He loves us and that He walked that lonely road alone so that we would not have to. I know his sacrifice opened up the way for us to return to our Father in Heaven. His sacrifice makes this life worth living, for without it we would be lost. For that I am eternally grateful.
Happy Easter.
As I watched this video this afternoon, I reflected on an experience I had on Friday. I have found myself distracted this week and have found it difficult to focus on Easter as much as I would have liked to. On Friday as I took a walk during lunch, in a hurry to run an errand across town, and cut across the park in front of the White House, where there are often protests and other displays. As I entered the park I saw a display I had seen in years past but had forgotten about. There were several men dressed up as Roman soldiers and one man dressed as Christ and carrying wooden cross. They walked slowly and silently through the park. At first I was a little bit embarrassed by this display. I'm not quite sure why, but I was. Then I observed the behavior of those around me. Some were staring with similar feelings of discomfort; some were oblivious; some were taking pictures; some were stopped reverently. As our paths were about to cross, my feelings began to change, but I didn't understand them. I knew they had moved away from discomfort of the display to discomfort with my own reaction. I considered what the reaction of the people of Jerusalem would have been on that Friday. Were there some who stared in discomfort? Were there those who regarded it as just another criminal trial and therefore were not interested? Were there those who payed attention and made mental historical notes? Were there those like me, unsure of how to feel, but sure that they must feel something? All these thoughts took place with lightning speed as our paths crossed moments later. As soon as I passed Christ, my spirit reacted. Unexpectedly, I felt pain, I felt the tragedy of that day, but I also felt of God's love for me and for all of us as He sent His son to live and die for us. I felt my eyes well up with tears and a few spilled over as I passed this silent march. I repented for my initial discomfort and expressed gratitude for these people's willingness to remind me of the significance of that day.
As I prepared myself this morning to sing my solo part in Beautiful Savior, I considered the words I would be singing. This hymn has a beautiful, simple melody and a simple message: the world is a glorious, beautiful place. Take all that glory and beauty and it does not compare to that of Christ. That is pretty remarkable. During the closing prayer of our services today, I felt that reaffirmed in my heart. I was touched by God's love for me and for all mankind.
I know that Christ lived and died for us and was resurrected on the day we celebrate as Easter. I know that He loves us and that He walked that lonely road alone so that we would not have to. I know his sacrifice opened up the way for us to return to our Father in Heaven. His sacrifice makes this life worth living, for without it we would be lost. For that I am eternally grateful.
Happy Easter.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
A boring, mish-mash day
1. I've been listening to the same two songs on repeat for the last 2 days.
2. In an attempt to get my hands on my SAT scores, I've discovered I need to submit by mail, a form to drudge my scores out of the SAT archives. It brought to my remembrance the days of yore when I had to register for college classes over the phone and I felt a teeny bit old.
3. Generic allergy medicine does not equal brand name. I will never make that mistake again.
4. I watched a movie this past weekend that made me want to compete in track and field again real bad. I've been working hard to move from marathon mode to 10k-and-below mode but I forget how much "quick" hurts. I'm not used to my lungs feeling like they're going to explode, but I kind of like it. Today I noticed that, tired as I was, there were hints of that old familiar feeling of sore but strong muscles that can and will work through anything. Mmmmm...I can almost smell the hot rubber of an all-weather track now...
5. I had an inexplicable urge to watch a Bollywood movie while on my run yesterday and my celebrity-crush on Hrithik Roshan came rushing back. I kind of want to watch Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai. Or Krrish.
One of my favorite clips from KNPH, for your viewing pleasure:
And maybe a picture of Hrithik, just so you get the idea:
6. I ate a cookie on Sunday and felt sick. I haven't had one since then. I got a little scared today that perhaps -- I'm almost afraid to say it outloud -- I'm reexperiencing an extended period of time during college wherein I lost all desire for sweets. I suppose there are worse things in life, but still, it was a strange realization.
7. I had a really funny thought when I woke up this morning but I can't for the life of me remember what it was. Then around mid-morning for some reason a quote from the movie Emma to my mind: "And I know how you like news." I love that quote. And I love that movie, except for the middle part with Jane Fairfax and all that nonsense. I always have to fast-forward through the picnic scene because it's just so uncomfortable.
8. The sunrise was beautiful this morning.
9. Today, due to a series of events I will not outline here because (if you can believe it) they are more boring than the rest of this blog posting, I revisited the story of David and the Bathsheba aftermath. You know, the part where the prophet Nathan tells David the parable or the rich man taking the poor man's only lamb and then tells David "thou art the man." I remember the first time I was taught about David's fall. I felt so betrayed that all through primary we learned about David and Goliath and about David's friendship with Jonathan and all these wonderful things and then BAM! You get to seminary and learn about Bathsheba and all that mess...I remember that day in seminary so clearly. I literally cried through most of the day. It was the cause of some great soul searching during my sophomore year. Every time I think about that story, my heart feels so heavy, both because it is so tragic and because feeling the weight of the Lord's chastisement is my worst nightmare. Basically, he told David, I've given you everything, and had you felt like it wasn't enough, I would have given you more. And yet, and yet...you had to go and take the one thing you shouldn't have taken, and that was where you fouled up. You can hear the love wrapped up in the tremendous disappointment and feeling of tragedy in God's voice. My worst fear, truly, is for God to be disappointed in me because of a lack of faith and obedience.
10. Can't end on that downer. I found, no joke, an eyebrow about an inch long this morning, hiding. In fact, the only reason I saw it was because sometime, somehow it had turned BLONDE. Weird. I plucked that sucker right out. I almost sent it to you, Tom. You know why.
2. In an attempt to get my hands on my SAT scores, I've discovered I need to submit by mail, a form to drudge my scores out of the SAT archives. It brought to my remembrance the days of yore when I had to register for college classes over the phone and I felt a teeny bit old.
3. Generic allergy medicine does not equal brand name. I will never make that mistake again.
4. I watched a movie this past weekend that made me want to compete in track and field again real bad. I've been working hard to move from marathon mode to 10k-and-below mode but I forget how much "quick" hurts. I'm not used to my lungs feeling like they're going to explode, but I kind of like it. Today I noticed that, tired as I was, there were hints of that old familiar feeling of sore but strong muscles that can and will work through anything. Mmmmm...I can almost smell the hot rubber of an all-weather track now...
5. I had an inexplicable urge to watch a Bollywood movie while on my run yesterday and my celebrity-crush on Hrithik Roshan came rushing back. I kind of want to watch Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai. Or Krrish.
One of my favorite clips from KNPH, for your viewing pleasure:
And maybe a picture of Hrithik, just so you get the idea:
6. I ate a cookie on Sunday and felt sick. I haven't had one since then. I got a little scared today that perhaps -- I'm almost afraid to say it outloud -- I'm reexperiencing an extended period of time during college wherein I lost all desire for sweets. I suppose there are worse things in life, but still, it was a strange realization.
7. I had a really funny thought when I woke up this morning but I can't for the life of me remember what it was. Then around mid-morning for some reason a quote from the movie Emma to my mind: "And I know how you like news." I love that quote. And I love that movie, except for the middle part with Jane Fairfax and all that nonsense. I always have to fast-forward through the picnic scene because it's just so uncomfortable.
8. The sunrise was beautiful this morning.
9. Today, due to a series of events I will not outline here because (if you can believe it) they are more boring than the rest of this blog posting, I revisited the story of David and the Bathsheba aftermath. You know, the part where the prophet Nathan tells David the parable or the rich man taking the poor man's only lamb and then tells David "thou art the man." I remember the first time I was taught about David's fall. I felt so betrayed that all through primary we learned about David and Goliath and about David's friendship with Jonathan and all these wonderful things and then BAM! You get to seminary and learn about Bathsheba and all that mess...I remember that day in seminary so clearly. I literally cried through most of the day. It was the cause of some great soul searching during my sophomore year. Every time I think about that story, my heart feels so heavy, both because it is so tragic and because feeling the weight of the Lord's chastisement is my worst nightmare. Basically, he told David, I've given you everything, and had you felt like it wasn't enough, I would have given you more. And yet, and yet...you had to go and take the one thing you shouldn't have taken, and that was where you fouled up. You can hear the love wrapped up in the tremendous disappointment and feeling of tragedy in God's voice. My worst fear, truly, is for God to be disappointed in me because of a lack of faith and obedience.
10. Can't end on that downer. I found, no joke, an eyebrow about an inch long this morning, hiding. In fact, the only reason I saw it was because sometime, somehow it had turned BLONDE. Weird. I plucked that sucker right out. I almost sent it to you, Tom. You know why.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The Ability to Create
I was all set to blog today about my very first experience with a Neti Pot last night, but as I worked my way through a network of blogs today, I stumbled across a video that I rather liked and felt would be more worthy of today's blog space than a comical account of saline solution being poured through one nostril and coming out the other. (I'm not kidding--and now that I'm thinking about it, maybe it's best that I don't post on the Neti Pot. Ever.)
About a week or two ago I became aware of a YouTube channel called Mormon Messages. A statement on Lds.org explains its purpose: "If you are looking for a simple way to watch and share brief, gospel-centered videos, visit Mormon Messages, a Church-sponsored YouTube channel that is updated each week with teachings of our basic beliefs, stories of hope and inspiration, and more." I think this channel is not only a great missionary tool, but also a great way to give members of the Church both uplift and clarification on various concepts. These short messages, I believe, can help unclutter our own personal articulations (or inarticulations, as the case may be).
The video that automatically plays when you go to Mormon Messages right now is on why Mormons build temples. I sent this video to some of my temple prep students last week because I felt like it was a great great sum-up of what we have learned in class. I found it to be very powerful as it was direct, informative (but succinct), and quite uplifting. I'm sure many of you have seen it. If not, here it is:
It's a great video, but not the one I came to blog about. The one I wanted to talk about briefly was one I found in my blogging travels today. It is a talk/music/image medley. The text of the video is taken from a talk President Uchtdorf gave at the last General Relief Society broadcast:
I'll be honest, I usually feel like these kinds of videos are a little bit cheesy, but for some reason instead of rolling my eyes a little bit, I felt comforted and inspired.
I loved this talk when it was given, and I actually quite like how it is presented here. I believe him when he says that the desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. I also believe him when he says that we can satisfy that yearning through the small and simple tasks of our day. Too often, I think, I want to change the world by being involved in a great, far-reaching, world-impacting organization or cause. Too often I forget that creation is something I do every day, and that my actions often have a domino effect, affecting more people than I realize.
I know this blog usually revels in the ridiculous, but I want to make sure I take time every once in a while to share the things that matter most to me--such as family, temples, and eternal progression--because in a lot of ways this blog is a major creative outlet, and, while I absolutely love to entertain you all (I really mean that; It brings a lot of joy to my soul), I also hope that sometimes I can provide a little positive lift. Especially on a dreary Wednesday morning following a very... interesting experience involving a Neti Pot and allergy medication. Ah Spring.
About a week or two ago I became aware of a YouTube channel called Mormon Messages. A statement on Lds.org explains its purpose: "If you are looking for a simple way to watch and share brief, gospel-centered videos, visit Mormon Messages, a Church-sponsored YouTube channel that is updated each week with teachings of our basic beliefs, stories of hope and inspiration, and more." I think this channel is not only a great missionary tool, but also a great way to give members of the Church both uplift and clarification on various concepts. These short messages, I believe, can help unclutter our own personal articulations (or inarticulations, as the case may be).
The video that automatically plays when you go to Mormon Messages right now is on why Mormons build temples. I sent this video to some of my temple prep students last week because I felt like it was a great great sum-up of what we have learned in class. I found it to be very powerful as it was direct, informative (but succinct), and quite uplifting. I'm sure many of you have seen it. If not, here it is:
It's a great video, but not the one I came to blog about. The one I wanted to talk about briefly was one I found in my blogging travels today. It is a talk/music/image medley. The text of the video is taken from a talk President Uchtdorf gave at the last General Relief Society broadcast:
I'll be honest, I usually feel like these kinds of videos are a little bit cheesy, but for some reason instead of rolling my eyes a little bit, I felt comforted and inspired.
I loved this talk when it was given, and I actually quite like how it is presented here. I believe him when he says that the desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. I also believe him when he says that we can satisfy that yearning through the small and simple tasks of our day. Too often, I think, I want to change the world by being involved in a great, far-reaching, world-impacting organization or cause. Too often I forget that creation is something I do every day, and that my actions often have a domino effect, affecting more people than I realize.
I know this blog usually revels in the ridiculous, but I want to make sure I take time every once in a while to share the things that matter most to me--such as family, temples, and eternal progression--because in a lot of ways this blog is a major creative outlet, and, while I absolutely love to entertain you all (I really mean that; It brings a lot of joy to my soul), I also hope that sometimes I can provide a little positive lift. Especially on a dreary Wednesday morning following a very... interesting experience involving a Neti Pot and allergy medication. Ah Spring.
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